033 
fications were always simultaneously present in the material ex- 
perimented with. 
Only with cadmium") did they succeed in preparing the pure a, 3 
and y-modifications by preparing electrolytically the y-form, which 
was transformed afterwards into the B- or- e-modification. 
12. From the work of ConeN and his collaborators it follows 
that a piece of sodium, chosen at random, is at ordinary tempera- 
tures in a metastable condition, as there are simultaneously present 
both the «- and g-sodium. This conclusion is proved in a quantitative 
way by the very exact measurements of Ezer Grirritus. It is to be 
expected that sodium which has received heat treatment of an inter- 
mediate character (between chilling and annealing) will have at a 
given temperature a specific heat between the values found at the 
same temperature for the “chilled” and “annealed” material respectively. 
The following experiment proves that this is really the case. 
The metal was melted and allowed to cool freely in air. (Samples 
A and 2, table III). Whilst the specific heat of the “annealed” 
metal was found to be 0.2829 at O° C. and that of the chilled 0.2870, 
the experiment gave now (at 0’ C.) the values of table III. 
The specific heat values are found now between 0.2829 and 0.2870. 
GRIFFITHS says: “Several determinations were made at tempera- 
tures between 88° and 94° after a somewhat similar heat-treatment, 
and the same feature is common to all, the values falling between 
the extremes corresponding to the “annealed” and the “quenched” 
states”’. 
TABLE UL 
Preparation | Date | maa oe Mean 
A April 7 0.2861 
0.2868 
0.2866 0.2864 
0.2864 
0.2858 
B June 4 0.2864 
| 0.2871 
5 0.2862 
: 0.2855 0.2863 
6 0.2864 u 
0.2863 
1) Proc. 16, 485 (1913); 17, 54, 122, 638 (1914). 
